The present invention generally relates to crimping machines that utilize interacting die segments adapted to radially travel toward each other to diametrically crimp components together, such as a fitting to a hose. More particularly, this invention relates to a crimper assembly configured to increase the radial travel capability of its die segments and thereby increase the size of the opening that can be defined by the die segments during loading of the crimper assembly with components to be crimped.
Crimping machines adapted to crimp fittings, ferrules, etc. to hoses, pipes and other components are well known. A notable example is the CustomCrimp® CC Series of crimping machines, which are available in a variety of sizes to crimp hoses with diameters of up to about ten inches (about 25 cm). A CustomCrimp® CC Series crimping machine 10 is schematically represented in FIGS. 1 and 2. To facilitate the description of the machine 10 provided below, the terms “vertical,” “horizontal,” “upper,” “lower,” “above,” “below,” etc., will be used in reference to the perspective of the orientation of the machine 10 in FIGS. 1 and 2, and therefore are relative terms and should not be otherwise interpreted as limitations to the installation and use of the machine 10.
The crimping machine 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 is represented as comprising a frame 12 in which a die carrier assembly 14 and actuator assembly 16 are mounted. The actuator assembly 16 is located below the die carrier assembly 14 and is adapted to raise and lower a cradle 18 that supports part of the die carrier assembly 14. Actuation is typically with hydraulic power, such as a hydraulic cylinder, though it is foreseeable that mechanical actuation or some other means of actuation could be used. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the die carrier assembly 14 is represented as comprising four master die carriers 20, adapted to collapse eight intermediate master dies or shoes 22A and 22B toward each other for the purpose of diametrically crimping two components together, such as a fitting onto a hose or tube (not shown). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various types of dies and adapters (not shown) can be assembled to the die carrier assembly 14 in order to adapt the machine 10 for crimping different types and sizes of components. Because the dies and adapters are mounted to the radial inner extents of the shoes 22A and 22B, the crimping diameter of the die carrier assembly 14 is less than the minimum shoe opening, Dmin, identified in FIG. 2.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show the crimping machine 10 with its die carriers 20 and shoes 22A and 22B in the fully open and fully closed positions, respectively. In FIG. 1, the cradle 18 is in a lowered position between a pair of side rails 24. The lower die carrier 20 is supported by and preferably secured within a notch 26 at the upper end of the cradle 18, such that the lower die carrier 20 moves with travel of the cradle 18. The upper die carrier 20 is secured within a notch 28 defined in the frame 12, and the side die carriers 20 are mounted between the upper and lower die carriers 20 and capable of moving laterally inward and outward. Compression springs 30 are located between each circumferentially-adjacent pair of shoes 22A and 22B to maintain uniform circumferential spacing between the shoes 22A and 22B and engagement of the shoes 22A and 22B with the die carriers 20. As evident from FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the four shoes 22A located at the 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock positions is supported within a notch 20A defined solely by one of the die carriers 20, whereas the remaining shoes 22B are supported by adjacent pairs of the carriers 20. FIG. 3 depicts an exploded view of the die carrier assembly 14, showing the carriers 20, shoes 22A and 22B and springs 30. FIG. 3 also shows alignment bolts 32 that ensure proper radial alignment of the shoes 22A with their corresponding carriers 20 is maintained as the die carrier assembly 14 is actuated between the fully open and fully closed positions of FIGS. 1 and 2. and alignment screws and nuts 34 that ensure proper circumferential alignment of the carriers 20 and shoes 22A and 22B occurs when the die carrier assembly 14 is in the fully closed position of FIG. 2.
As the cradle 18 and the lower die carrier 20 travel upward from the fully open position of FIG. 1 to the fully closed position of FIG. 2, the side die carriers 20 cam against inclined surfaces of the notches 26 and 28, causing the side die carriers 20 to move laterally inward. As a result, relative motion occurs in which all four die carriers 20 and their shoes 22A and 22B effectively travel in radially inward directions relative to each other. As evident from FIG. 2, the effective diameter defined by the radially inward extents of the shoes 22A and 22B decreases from a maximum opening diameter Dmax in FIG. 1 to a minimum opening diameter Dmin in FIG. 2. Relative movement of each pair of diametrically opposed shoes 22A and 22B is substantially along the effective diameter defined by the radially inward extents of the shoes 22A and 22B at any given moment.
As previously noted with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, the shoes 22B are supported by adjacent pairs of the die carriers 20. As evident from FIG. 1 and as clarified by the isolated view of the carriers 20 and shoes 22B in FIG. 4, in the fully open position the circumferential extents 22C of each shoe 22B are supported by circumferential extents 20C of two of the die carriers 20, which are separated by a circumferential gap 36 located along a radial of the maximum and minimum diameters Dmax and Dmin of the die carrier assembly 14. The gaps 36 are uniform in width as evident from FIG. 6. The gap 36 between die carriers 20 cannot exceed the circumferential lengths of the shoes 22B, as doing so will cause the shoes 22B to be unsupported and, under the force of the compression springs 30, cause the shoes 22B to become wedged between the carriers 20. Though increasing the circumferential lengths of the shoes 22B would allow for greater diametrical expansion of the die carrier assembly 14 and have the effect of increasing Dmax in FIGS. 1 and 3, this will also undesirably affect the crimping capability of the die carrier assembly 14 by increasing Dmin in FIGS. 2 and 5. As such, for a given desired crimp diameter, the configuration of the die carriers 20 and shoes 22A and 22B limits the amount of radial die travel and, therefore, the maximum die opening (Dmax) for a given desired crimping diameter.
While the die carrier assembly 14 represented in FIGS. 1 through 6 is adequate for many applications, limitations can be encountered if the hose or other component to be crimped has an elbow or another geometric shape or feature that results in the component having other than a uniform circular outer perimeter that is continuous along the length of the component that must pass through the maximum die opening (Dmax) As fitting manufacturers continue to modify the sizes and designs of fittings and ferrules, the versatility of crimping machines can become inadequate, with the result that existing crimping machines capable of crimping nearly every existing fitting in the past cannot do so today.
In view of the above, it would be desirable if the radial die travel of a crimping machine could be increased to increase the die opening (Dmax) without also causing an increase in the crimping diameter (Dmin).